Oldest fraternity

bitchanichs · #1 03-08-2001, 01:21 AM

I was wondering what are some of the older fraternities in the country? Is there a list of the few oldest? Feel free to list founding year of your fraternity. I come from a local frat Omicron Pi Omicron that was founded in 1903.

Miami1839 · #2 03-08-2001, 01:27 AM

My fraternity, Beta Theta Pi was founded August 8th, 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Beta Kappa was the first fraternity, now an honor society, to be founded. I forget what the year was but if I remember correctly they were founded in Williamsburg, Virginia. We didnt have Sigma Alpha Epsilon on my campus but I hear they're pretty old. I dont remember the exact year but Sigma Chi was founded about 10 years after ours was and Phi Delta Theta is pretty old too.

Kevin
Beta Theta Pi Alum
Epsilon Mu

Siobhan · #3 03-08-2001, 01:33 AM

I think Phi Beta Kappa was founded 1776. But I could be wrong.

ZetaAce · #4 03-07-2001, 02:10 PM

Yes, Phi Beta Kappa was founded at William and Mary on December 5, 1776.

ZetaAce

------------------
FinerWomanhood: Learn it, Live it, Love it!

queequek · #5 03-07-2001, 06:53 PM

Theta Delta Chi was founded October 30, 1847. It is the eleventh oldest campus fraternity in the nation.
Union College, Schenectady, NY, is the birth place of ours. The college is the birth place of A LOT of earlier fraternities ... they have "A fraternity gate" or something. You can check it out.

TxTechChiO · #6 03-07-2001, 07:01 PM

Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee. Not the oldest but maybe one of the oldest?

SAEalumnus · #7 03-07-2001, 07:41 PM

Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded on March 9, 1856. I know Sigma Chi was founded in 1855, but I'm not sure of the date (June?).

PhiGam · #8 02-20-2008, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAEalumnus

Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded on March 9, 1856. I know Sigma Chi was founded in 1855, but I'm not sure of the date (June?).

SAE was founded by a Phi Gam at U of Alabama, correct?
Phi Gamma Delta, 1848 at Jefferson College along with Phi Kappa Psi.

baby_bruh · #9 02-20-2008, 05:10 AM

Freemasonry dates back to the days of king Solomon, was established in London, England in 1717 and founded in America in 1784 under the name "Prince Hall" in Boston, Mass.

MysticCat · #10 02-20-2008, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baby_bruh

Freemasonry dates back to the days of king Solomon, was established in London, England in 1717 and founded in America in 1784 under the name "Prince Hall" in Boston, Mass.

Ummm. Fremasonry sometimes claims to date back to the days of King Solomon, but any honest masonic historian will tell you that it doesn't really; at most, it dates back to the late middle ages/Renaissance.

And Prince Hall Freemasonry, while certainly important, is but one branch of American Freemasonry, and it was not the first branch established in the US.

baby_bruh · #11 02-20-2008, 04:46 PM

Wow... Ok... Well I am a Prince Hall Mason and Prince Hall was and is the only American Masonic Lodge. The others are Scottish and York Rites which originated in Scotland and Yorkshire. And any 'honest' Mason will tell you the truth about where our organization started, which was in the days of King Solomon.

SAEalumnus · #12 02-27-2008, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhiGam

SAE was founded by a Phi Gam at U of Alabama, correct?
Phi Gamma Delta, 1848 at Jefferson College along with Phi Kappa Psi.

Incorrect. Noble Leslie DeVotie was the principle of our eight Founders, and he wrote both our ritual and original constitution. None of our Founders were ever members of any other social fraternity, though all of them received bids from at least some of the fraternities on campus at the time (DeVotie having received bids from all of them).

UNFSigmaChi · #13 03-07-2001, 08:28 PM

Its June 28th 1855.

DeltAlum · #14 03-08-2001, 04:11 PM

Delta Tau Delta, considered by some article I read somewhere to be the "last" of the "original" major fraternities was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Virginia (Now West Virginia)

I don't know what criteria the above mentioned article used to define the dividing line between "original" and later fraternities.

Fraternally,
DeltAlum

Tom Earp · #15 03-08-2001, 05:11 PM

While LXA is somewhat new, 1909, I think KS says they go back to Bolonga, It. The Miami Triad was the first major Fraternal organizations of this country that are still active. While I have been known to be wrong, there is someone out there who should know!

------------------
Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)